System of electric lighting on constant-current circuits.



No. 680.809. Patented Aug. 20, IQUI H. N. PUTTER.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING 0N CONSTANT CURRENT CIRCUITS.

.(Application filed Ot. a, 1900. (No Model.)

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lUNTTnn STATLS PATENT (Enrica.

HENRY NOEL POTTER, OF I-IALENSEE, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGEWVESTINGHOUSE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC LIGHTlNG ON CONSTANT-CURRENT ClRCUlTS.

fiEECIEICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 680,809, dated August20, 1901. Application filed October 3, 1900. Serial No. 311831. (Nomodel.)

To (LZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY NOEL Porrnn, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Halensee, Germany, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Systems of Electric Lighting onGonstantCurrent Circuits, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an arrangement of circuits and apparatus for theoperation upon constant-current circuits of lamps having a plurality ofglowers made of a material which requires to be heated in order tobecome conductive, the object being to provide automatic means forcutting'ont any lamp when it is out of order and also means forindicating at all times the condition of any given lamp.

In practice I employ a cut-out for the entire lamp in addition to theusual heater out out, and I usually employ an incandescent pilot-lamp ina shunt to each multiglowerlamp controlled by a rise of voltage in thecircuit. I also provide ballast resistances in series with the severalglowers; but these resistances are usually not corrective ballasts,

but are merely German-silver wires of a few ohms resistance, theresistances being so chosen as to cause the current to divide upproperly among the glowers constituting the luminous elements of thelamp.

My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawing, which is a diagram of an electric circuit containing multipleglower-lamps in series, one of the lamps being shown in diagram inconnection with the extra cut-out and the indicating devices for showingwhen the lamp is out of order.

In the drawing, 1 is any suitable generator of electricity, and 2 and 3are mains leading therefrom. Multiglower-lamps of the characterdescribed are shown at 4, 5, and 6, the last-named lamp beingillustrated dia grammatically with considerable detail.

Referring to the apparatus connected with the lamp 6, 7 7 are glowers ofthe character described and 8 8 are ballast resistances, generally ofGerman silver, one inseries with each glower. The object of theseresistances is to make the current split up properly among the severalglowers of the lamp. At 9 is shown an electric heater of any suitabletype intended to bring the glowers to a conductive state in the usualmanner.

In going to the lamp 6 the main 3 passes to the contact-point 10 of anelectric cut-out and through the movable part 11 of the said cut-out tothe second stationary cut-out point 12 thereof. From the point 12 themain circuit proceeds in a similar way through the heater cutout for thelamp, the stationary point of this cutout being shown at 13 and 15 andthe movable part thereof being shown at 14. Branches from the main wire3 pass through the actuating-coil 16 of the heater cut-out and alsothrough the actuating-coil 17 of a second cut-out, the object of whichwill be described farther on. The action of the heater cut-out issimilar to that of the usual electromagnetic cut-out in lamps of thisclass. lVhen the glowers of the lamp 6 have become heated until they arethemselves sufficiently good conductors of the electric current, aconsiderable port-ion of the current on theline is shunted through theglowers and through the coil l6,'which coil then lifts the movablecontact 1a from the cut-out points 13 and 15, thus rupturing theheatercircuit. The coil 17 is an actuatingcoil for a cut-out whosecontacts are in series with the whole current to the heaterand glowers.This actuating-coil 17 is in series with a re sistance 19 and aresistance 20, the latterbeing connected through a switch 21 to the main2. The resistance may well be an incandescent lamp so designed as totake the full current ordinarily taken by the lamp 6, though notnecessarily designed for the full voltage of the latter. The lamp 20 maybe replaced by the-actuating-coil 22 of a semaphore 23. I have indicatedthis construction in dotted-lines in the drawing. On the shaft of thesemaphore 23 I show a toothed segment 24, which engages with araek 25 onthe core of the coil 22. The action is obvious.

"In operation the lamp first takes current through the heater, and aslight excess current passes through the coil 17, the resistance 19, andthe incandescent lamp 20. This excess current is insufficient, however,to raise the armature of the cut-out coil 17. When a sufficient numberof the glowers have become conductive, the cut-out coil 16 does its workin the manner already described, thus cutting the heater out of thecircuit. Inasmuch as we are here operating upon a constant current it isdesirable that the cut-out apparatus for the heater-circuit should be assensitive as possible. Should one of the glowers break, the totalcurrent will then flow through the remaining five glowers, causing thevoltage to rise, but not endangering the ballasts, as would be the caseif the latter were of the usual corrective type. When the voltage hasrisen sufficiently to cause an excess current to flow through the coil17, (which excess current will be further aided by the decreasingresistance of the incandescent lamp 20,) the core of the cut-out coil 17is drawn up, interrupting the current to the lamp.

Above the movable element 11, which usually bridges the contacts 10 and12, are two other stationary contacts 26 and 27, arranged in a shuntaround the resistance 19. When the circuit of the lamp has beeninterrupted, as above described, thus throwing the entire currentthrough the coil 17, the resistance 19, and the lamp 20, the movableelement 11 is drawn violently up against the contacts 26 and 27, inwhich position the resistance 19 is cut out. The current formerlypassing through the lamp now traverses the coil 17 and the incandescentpilot-lamp 20, indicating that the lamp 6 is out of order. By openingthe switch 21 and closing a switch 28 in the circuit of thesemaphore-operating coil 22 the semaphore itself will be set to indicatean abnormal condition in the lamp 6. This is in fact the condition ofthe circuit indicated in the drawing. In general it is not my purpose toprovide the alternative construction indicated in the drawing, but toselect either an incandescent lamp or a sema phore-coil and connect theone or the other permanently with the lamp apparatus. -The semaphorewould have the advantage over the incandescent lamp of continuing toindicate the abnormal condition after the entire circuit should for anyreason have been opened. All the advantages of both devices may besecured by connecting up an incandescent lamp and the semaphore devicein series or in parallel as a substitute for either device alone. Insome instances I prefer to use the duplicate devices last mentioned.Manifestly the described apparatus indicates the actual'condition of thelamp with which it is connected, whether such condition is normal orabnormal, the luminous or nonluminous condition of the incandescent lampor the position of the semaphore-arm beinga sufficient indication forthis purpose.

The invention claimed is 1. The combination with a multiglowerlamp ofthe class described, of a pilot-lamp in a normally closed shunt thereto,adapted to become luminous when the in ultiglower-lamp is out of order.

2. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of acut-out for the lamp operated by a rise of voltage in the lamp-circuitsuch cut-out operating to break the lamp-circuit when one of the glowersbreaks or becomes inoperative for any reason.

3. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of acut-out for the heater of said lamp, and a second cutout for the entirelamp, the said second cutout being operated by a rise of voltage in thelamp-circuit.

4. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of ahigh-resistance shunt to the said lamp, and means for breaking thelamp-circuit and throwing the entire current through the shunt when oneof the glowers of the lamp breaks or becomes inoperative, for anyreason.

5. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of ahigh-resistance shunt containing an incandescent pilotlamp, and meansfor breaking the circuit of the multiglower-lamp'and passing the currentthrough the pilot-lamp when one or more of the glowers becomeinoperative.

6. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of ashunt-circuit thereto containing a resistance and an indicating device,means for breaking the circuit of the lamp when one of the glowersbecomes inoperative, and means for cutting out theresistance when thecut-out for the lamp is operated.

7. The combination with a multiglowerlamp of the class described, of avariable-resistance shunt including an indicating device, the said shuntcontaininga cut-out which is operated by a rise of voltage in thelampcircuit.

S. In a system of electric lighting by multiglower-lamps of the classdescribed on constant-current circuits, a series of such lamps, eachhaving an automatic cut-out operated by a rise of voltage in thelamp-circuit, such cut-out acting to break the circuit of the lamp whenone of the glowers breaks or becomes inoperative for any reason.

HENRY NOEL POTTER.

Witnesses HENRY HASPER, WOLDEMAR HAUPT.

